Category: News Article

U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced Friday that following his direct request, Plains, Montana will receive a $5.1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant will help complete a major infrastructure project for the community by relocating the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which is currently at risk of a catastrophic failure due to its vicinity to the Clark Fork River. “This grant is a critical investment for the Plains community as they work to improve their sanitation infrastructure by moving the wastewater treatment plant away from the Clark Fork River,” Daines said. “I’m glad that I could help

Senator Jon Tester (D) introduced a bill last month with Senator Deb Fischer, Neb., that seeks to improve safety at rural train crossings. As of right now, railroad crossing arms are only installed at locations where a road is wide enough for two vehicles. A second bill to address the dangers of parked trains on highway-railroad crossings was also introduced by the same two senators. Valley County has reported two cases of vehicle-train collisions this year at rural crossings. The first occurred on July 18 in Hinsdale at the crossing with crossing arms. There were no injuries. The second occurred

After months of political sniping, Congress has finally come within reach of a deal to send more help to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. The top four leaders on Capitol Hill have come close to a $900 billion pandemic aid agreement, CNBC and NBC News confirmed. The lawmakers will put aside liability protections for businesses and state and local government relief, the two biggest hurdles to reaching a deal in recent months. The developing rescue package would include a direct payment to Americans, which could come out to about $600 per person. It would also have about $300 billion for

Six Bozeman Health employees lined up in the emergency room on Monday afternoon to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. They were among the first Montanans to receive the vaccine, which arrived in the state Monday morning. Dr. Andrew Sullivan, a pulmonary and critical care physician, was the first in line. The vaccination took less than a minute and was met with applause from Bozeman Health staff. “I’m thrilled it’s here,” Sullivan said after the vaccination. “Honestly, I’m more excited for other people to get it.” Over the last 11 months, Sullivan said he has seen the coronavirus take lives and upend

Six Bozeman Health employees lined up in the emergency room on Monday afternoon to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. They were among the first Montanans to receive the vaccine, which arrived in the state Monday morning. Dr. Andrew Sullivan, a pulmonary and critical care physician, was the first in line. The vaccination took less than a minute and was met with applause from Bozeman Health staff. “I’m thrilled it’s here,” Sullivan said after the vaccination. “Honestly, I’m more excited for other people to get it.” Over the last 11 months, Sullivan said he has seen the coronavirus take lives and upend

Due to a system upgrade over the weekend with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, no new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t any new cases and daily totals impacted by the system upgrade will be reported in the following days according to DPHHS. “The upgrade required the system to be shut down all day, so no cases could be reported to the state for today’s update,” wrote DPHHS on its website. “Cases will be added in the coming days as local public health departments catch up with a data

The U.S. Senate on Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which would support Montana’s military installations, service members, veterans and military families. The bipartisan bill, supported by Montana’s U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. The annual defense bill includes provisions, such as a 3% pay raise to all service members, hazard pay and 180 days of medical care for National Guard and Reserve service members on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release. The bill also contains maintenance and modernization for bases with intercontinental

The first doses could arrive as early as next Tuesday, and will be prioritized for health care workers and assisted living facilities. When 9,750 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Montana as early as next Tuesday, the delivery will mark the beginning of a complex distribution plan organized by public health officials, hospital administrations and commercial pharmacies. The goal of the initial round of distribution, state officials say, is to get the vaccine to as many frontline health care workers as possible. As of Tuesday, Montana reported 17,293 active cases, with approximately 70% of the state’s ICU beds

President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan bill that included legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) that will make it easier for U.S. military veterans to use the outdoors as part of their medical treatment and therapy. “The outdoors is critical to our Montana way of life and can help Montana veterans who are recovering from trauma and injuries they experienced in combat,” Sen. Daines said. “That’s why I’m glad my bipartisan bill promoting recovery and treatment programs on public lands for the benefit of Montana veterans has been signed into law.” The Accelerating Veterans

As part of the recently passed Veterans COMPACT Act, the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act makes therapy via outdoor recreation more readily available to military veterans. A broad legislative effort to better serve military veterans was recently signed into law by the president. And within that legislation is a concerted plan to better veterans’ access to therapeutic outdoor programs. The Veterans COMPACT Act creates new channels of communication between veterans and the VA, implements programs and policies for better health care, and focuses on transition assistance, suicide prevention among veterans, women’s reproductive health care, and more. And as part of